2) Doing some press for the LMAs and more soon. Herald-Leader in Lexington and more in surrounding areas. Stay tuned for links!

3) Speaking of LMAs....the show is gonna be amazing. Lots of incredible performances, new categories, pro panel hekped this time around, and more!

4) Booking gigs, as I mentioned last time, in KY, TN, WV, OH, IN....performances, school clinics, and workshops in songwriting and improv. Stay tuned for dates & info!

5) As always, check out my entire on-line back catalogue of music (does not include my session work for others) at BandCamp and go check out my new ReverbNation page with samples of past & current ,music, gig calendar, photos, video, links, etc!

Saturday, November 5, 2016

1) We've been working hard on the web-sites SDML Academy of Guitar (thanx Paulie Felice!) and SkinnyDevil.Net (thanx Becky and Richard!), and the old site SkinnyDevil.Com will be back on-line soon. Not sure what I'll use it for, but I'll definitely be using it!

2) Angelee (my fearless and amazing manager) and I are booking gigs now for 2017 for school clinics, store workshops on songwriting, improvisation, corprate team-building, and more. Drop me or Angelee a line (you can reach her at FeltnerArtistManagement).

4) As always, check out my entire on-line back catalogue of music (does not include my session work for others) at BandCamp and go check out my new ReverbNation page with samples of past & current ,music, gig calendar, photos, video, links, etc!

Monday, October 24, 2016

Up very early with the boys (Wayne, 5, Rylan, 4, and Grayson, 18 months) and fixed them a big breakfast...hashbrowns, turkey bacon, fruit. Then played and played! Their Nana got them for long enough for me to grab a quick work-out (quick brisk bike, 3 rounds on the heavy bag, and 100 pull-ups) but then I got them again because she was ill.

It's no secret at this point that the divorce is final, but we're prepping the house for market and selling it before we'll be in different homes. Sooo...I'm enjoying all the time I can get with these grand-babies we share custody of, while I still can. And they are a HUGE amount of fun....even if I feel like they're trying to kill me (haha!).

Grabbed coffee and fruit and steak tataki (which is to say, only quickly seared - mostly raw) and a snack of carrots and fresh guacamole.

Morning ODIS photo for the records.

The workouts haven't been as Olympian as the past due to a more hectic schedule, but I'm roughly the same weight as the past 2 years...just not quite a "cut", as you can see in my ODIS photo (as compared to birthday 50 and birthday 51). But not too shabby. But the comparison does me good to see, because no excuse is good enough. I will endeavor to shred even more by the first of the year....so I may follow up with a new post or just in the comments below sometime soon.

Be that as it may, I made my way (with zero prep time!) over to Twisted Cork a bit before 6pm. Ray kicked things off (man, he is sooo good!), and then I jumped on stage and spent the next 2.5 hours having an amazing time with new and old friends playing music on-stage (most of it with no rehearsal or any idea what we were about to play...and much of that I didn't know...which is half the fun!). I hesitate to name names because I'm bound to miss someone when I make lists, but Paul and Mary and Thomas, and Chris and Heather and Ande and Mira and Ray and Whitney and Jeanna and Warren and Blackii and Greg (on bass throughout the night, as Friday was his birthday) and Marsha and Jim and many more besides! Lots of hugs & handshakes and lots of music was made!

With Mary on vocals...

Ande on vocals....

We played right up until they had to throw us out (haha!). I gathered my gear and stopped to chat, then realized I was (owners/employees aside) the last to leave. I loaded my gear in the truck, looked around at the gorgeous clear black skies, and was suddenly overwhelmed - despite divorce and all the implications of raising grand-kids and the financial disaster that follows all that and the stress of living with one's ex and any other of my many first world problems - with the reality that life is damn good. Damn good. My problems are, in fact, just first world problems, but the good is better than most people ever get. And so I have zero room to bitch about anything. At all. Ever.

Sooo...I put off meeting with Nik and Damien and Chris (Liz came by to visit the boys, so I did see her) until Maria is well so I can help with the boys, so I'll see them (and my 2 grand daughters) later this week.

And if my recurring dream (as outlined in my 50 post) holds true, I still have plenty of time to go make a difference for everyone, in my on-going mission to create opportunities, build something my kids can be proud of (like the Lexi Awards and Lexi-Fest Concert Series, and all the projects of Skinny Devil Music Lab), and secure my creative legacy..

Friday, August 26, 2016

The SDML Academy of Guitar is expanding. We have lesson locations in Lexington, KY and now also Chicago, IL. As of this writing, we are expanding to Shelbyville, KY and will soon follow with Frankfort, KY, Louisville, KY, the New Albany, IN area, and a short while later look into the Cincinnati, OH area.

Once we have these locations across 4 states (KY, IL, OH, IN) we'll begin looking at further expansion....which includes the complete training and certification of qualified SDML instructors. If you would like to see SDML's Academy in YOUR area,m drop us a line.

Tuesday, May 31, 2016

Here we are...Summer 2016! Time for another challenge! For those new to the challenges, it isn't to compete against others. It's to push yourself to greater heights, have some company & inspiration along the way, and a few ideas the help get us focused. For example, you can use this waving of the analytical knife to help organize your goals:

Tuesday, March 22, 2016

Here we are...Spring 2016! Time for another challenge! For those new to the challenges, it isn't to compete against others. It's to push yourself to greater heights, have some company & inspiration along the way, and a few ideas the help get us focused. For example, you can use this waving of the analytical knife to help organize your goals:

Sunday, February 14, 2016

So, my brothers in arms Gregory Francis & Adam McLean have done a 3 song collection called "Memories of Metal". This is my favorite, I think - their cover of the Blue Oyster Cult "Veteran of the Psychic Wars". Driving, emotion-laden, and some incredibly interesting musical choices (hard examples: Greg's vocal harmonies at 1:30 or Adam's melodic approach at 1:10...but many more throughout the song). Stunningly executed with technical precision, gut-wrenching dynamics, and the highest standard of excellence & musicality.Learn, be moved, and enjoy!http://gregoryfrancis.bandcamp.com/track/veterans-of-the-psychic-wars